Rusty chains

Just watched Chain Reaction in one of its last appearances on GSN. I still think it's a good show that deserved a couple more seasons on our little game show network.

The original version of Chain Reaction was a very short-lived NBC run with Bill Cullen in 1980. As is often the case with old game shows, some of that version has made its way to YouTube. I watched this episode to see how much things changed over the years.

The answer? Not...much...really, as the chain might say. I did notice that the chains were a little more loosely connected than on GSN's version, but the basic formats of both the front game and the bonus round were pretty similar. Oh, celebs made up two-thirds of the teams on NBC, thanks to a larger production budget.

Speaking of the production budget, the linked episode features a notable reversal by the judges after one of the bonus rounds. The team got buzzed on the questions leading to "Zsa Zsa" as the answer. But the judges reconsidered afterwards and awarded the civvie the full $10,000 prize. That's twenty-six grand in today's watered-down currency, which is a lot more than poor old GSN could afford. Those were the luxuries of a broadcast network before cable got big.

Another version of Chain Reaction ran from 1986 to 1991 on USA Network, and you can watch some of those eps on YouTube, too. YouTube is Boot Hill for defunct game shows.